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Surprise from Social Security
My husband and I had a cordial, even friendly, conversation with a young representative from Social Security this afternoon. We didn’t know exactly what to expect, but there was a method to our madness. We had heard that I might be entitled to payment equivalent to approximately half my husband’s social security monthly payment versus what I was receiving based on my work history, without reducing the amount he was already receiving.
Now we were skeptical, as you might imagine. But we had acquaintances who insisted it was true. It made sense for us to check on this, and we tried to get an appointment at the social security office, but were told we didn’t need one. So we were walk-ins. It took an hour for us to be called in, and the clerk, who was very friendly, explained that she could set up an appointment for us to speak by telephone to a staff person to discuss our question. The time was set up a month in advance, followed by a letter and email, explaining that we would be called at the telephone number we had given them. Okay, so it wasn’t efficient, but we figured we were on a journey . . .
At the time we were expecting the phone call, a young man called five minutes early! But we were ready, each of us on an extension phone. He verified the purpose of the call and had to verify my identity through several steps. There were no surprises, although it had been a long time since I’d been asked my mother’s maiden name, so I hesitated. (I suspect the fellow is accustomed to those gaps since he’s often talking to old people.) He proceeded to look at our computer file, rattled off a number of figures (past payments, current payments), and then asked me the key question:
Did you begin to draw your Social Security early?
Oops. The answer was yes, and he had the date and amount in front of him.
(For anyone who might not know, you can begin to draw at the first full month after your 62nd birthday.) We’d calculated that, on balance, it made sense for me to begin drawing it early.
And you can’t change your mind after the fact.
Although my husband didn’t remember our making that decision, I remembered the long, arduous discussions that led up to that choice. Even if I hadn’t drawn early, it turns out, I wouldn’t have qualified.
So we were out of luck. Except I can draw my husband’s full disbursement when he passes. ( My husband kidded the staff person not to give me any ideas and we all laughed. Ha ha. ) Actually, it was a very pleasant encounter, given that we’d just received disappointing news. And it didn’t exactly fall into the category of “it was too good to be true”—it was true, just not for us.
* * * * *
I felt compelled to write about this experience because so many of us have had unpleasant encounters with government bureaucrats. The young man we spoke to was upbeat, thorough, and was probably prepared for blustering from our end. But we are reasonable people–most of the time—and we understood that all the upset and rage would not change any of the numbers. Besides, I enjoyed the bantering; I think he was unnerved by it at first, but once he got into the rhythm of it, he played well.
If I felt a little bad about anything, it was wondering why such a smart, talented, cordial person was working for the federal government? I could just tell by his attitude and smarts that he would have done well in the private sector, even perhaps as an entrepreneur. I wish I’d learned his story, but I let that opportunity slip by.
Maybe next time—if there is one—I’ll ask.
Published in General
I’m approaching 62. At the end of this year, but I don’t want to retire. Certain parts of the job are certainly a pain, but those parts have always been a pain, and I still enjoy the challenges of what I feel I’m good at.
I also have only good experiences to report. I worked until age 71 when I became a Covid casualty and applied for SS when my severance ran out. I actually got “back payments” due to my age, which wrought havoc with our 2020 income. Since both Ray and I lost our jobs in 2020, we had some explaining to do at tax time, which I did.
Ray is actually applying now for the first time, and another first-I bring in more than he does! The new SS web site is very easy to use and I have had no problems.
I went through the logical process and applied just after my 62nd birthday. When my broker found out he told me I was an idiot and to take a personal check amounting to all the SSA had sent me- around $10K at that point- and withdraw. It was permitted and the check was accepted. I then waited beyond age 66 to sign up for full retirement benefits. It seemed to work. – Vic
I think that if SSA is your sole, or even main support, waiting is the right answer. I took it at 62 because it was supplementary to my other retirement and calculated how much time it would take before the total income received became greater by waiting vs early taking. To me it was worth adding to savings in the near term, given one can never know how long you will actually live or be able to enjoy the things that money can buy.
Here is the front page headline of our local Staten Island Newspaper:
“Gov. Ron DeSantis visits Staten Island, courts law enforcement: ‘Is this Florida north…?’”
So now I can really be your VP Susan. We’re Florida north!.
And he loved interacting with the people.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=8656925774378353
Video not embedding unfortunately.